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Did You Know?

Trivia:

At the orphanage, Jessica's daughter is listed as "Isabel Kamen". Isabel is the real first name of the girl who played the daughter (Isabelle Duhauvelle), and Kamen is the last name of the film's writer, Robert Mark Kamen.See more »

Goofs:

Continuity: When Jessica tells Liu what is happening to her and how she got in the position she is in, mid-way through the movie, her hair instantly changes position.See more »

Liu Jian (aka "Johnny") is a top level cop from Bejing on
temporary assignment in Paris to aid French police in a sting
operation to take down a Chinese heroine kingpin. But things go
bad and a double-cross ensues, leaving Liu Jian framed for
murder and running for his life. One is thing certain, though, our
hero won't be taken without a fight... a really good fight... and a few
more after that.
Luc Besson's screenplay isn't exactly creative, but given the
genre, it's pretty darn good. I know I sure sighed with relief that Liu
Jian (played with subtle excellence by Jet Li) wasn't driven by
some emotionally haunting past, like the death of a wife and child,
as is so typical in super-cop action films. In fact, we get just the
opposite--a man who simply loves his job and does it very well,
but is still human enough to make mistakes, feel pain and make
realistic choices (well, mostly).

The story isn't without its flaws, however. Mindless thugs do
play their part and there is an utterance of the most over-used
villain line of all time: "Bring him to me alive; I'll deal with him
myself" (or something to that affect). But somehow, it doesn't
sound quite so corny coming from actor Tcheky Karyo (as
Inspector Jean-Pierre Richard), who manages to play the
heartless villain with a great deal of intelligence. Rounding out the
cast is Bridget Fonda's Jessica, the prostitute with a good heart
and, yes, a young daughter in jeopardy. But despite its few
formulaic shortcomings, Kiss of the Dragon still delivers.

What really stands out in this film is the way the fight
sequences flow with the rest of the story, unlike so many other
movies that seem to be constructed around a few preconceived
action scenes. It's a martial arts action film done right. Thanks to
the superb direction of Chris Nahon, Kiss of the Dragon is classy,
well paced and gives us a near perfect blend of drama and levity
(no ridiculous one-liners here, but definitely some laughs along
the way). Best of all, Nahon engages the audience and makes the
story work to a reasonable level of believability.

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